New PCM Posts!

My loyal followers and stalkers:

Starting today, I will providing you with special exclusive featurettes on the PCM blog in addition to my usual snarky celeb-news postings.

The weekly themes will be (drum roll, please)

Manic Monday: Celebrity mishaps, snafus, and other boneheaded moves. Let's all feel schadenfreude as Paris Hilton crashes her car, Lindsey Lohan passes out in a bar, and Mary-Kate Olsen tries to vomit the one sesame seed she ate for breakfast five years ago.

New Music Tuesday: Sure, Apple will give you their weekly e-mails of the new music that you just can't live without...and so will I! I'll make it a point to focus on indie bands and singer-songwriters, though I'll certainly review mainstream albums if I have enough to say about them (oh, who am I kidding...OF COURSE I will!)

Whip it out Wednesday: Ladies: are you tired of the gynophobic, open-mouthed booty shots of all the female "celebrities" looking for their fifteen minutes of fame? Yeah, me too. Behold, the answer to all your problems: beefcake shots of all your favorite male celebs! The muscles! The smiles! The five o'clock shadows! The baby oil! Hang on to your hair products and your husbands, girls...

The Weekender Thursdays: Looking for something to do this weekend? Wanna go see a new movie, a new play, meet your favorite celebrity? Look no further than The Weekender Thursdays.

Flashback Fridays: Oh, the memories...the stuff you remember, the stuff you don't, and the stuff you'd like to forget.

Non Sequitor Saturdays: Non sequitor is Latin for "it does not follow." Basically, anything goes.

And on the seventh day, I will rest...

UPDATE: If I do post on Sunday, I'll call it the "Sunday Special," something you won't see on any other blog, in any other form, at any other time. Maybe a photo essay on a live show. Maybe a rumination on a show I've never seen before. Maybe a thought on some reality show or another. We'll see together. :-)

Donnie Wahlberg urges Americans to ensure their financial plans have "The Right Stuff"

This September, singer, actor and producer Donnie Wahlberg will urge millions of Americans to make sure their financial plans have the "right stuff." When he's not touring the country with the reunited New Kids on the Block, Wahlberg will serve as the front man for national Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), sharing his personal story to encourage Americans to examine their need for life insurance.

Wahlberg understands the difference life insurance can make when tragedy happens. His sister, Debbie, died at the age of 44 with a 16-year-old son and no life insurance. Fortunately, Wahlberg's nephew was taken care of thanks to a strong, extended family support system and famous uncles with the wherewithal to meet his needs. But many families would not be so fortunate. Wahlberg understands that without life insurance, many families leave themselves open to serious financial hardship.

"My sister was taken away from us too soon. She was a young woman who
had her whole life ahead of her, but like so many people, she didn't think about the 'what ifs,'" says Wahlberg. "With an upcoming album and tour, as well as a new movie, it may seem like I don't have a worry in the world, but I realize it could all be over tomorrow. When it was time for me to sit down with my advisor and set up my own financial plan, life insurance was a no-brainer. If something were to happen to me, I want to know that my loved ones will be taken care of financially. Life insurance guarantees that."

During September, Wahlberg plans to share his story through public appearances and interviews with newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations around the country. A video message from Wahlberg can be seen on LIFE's website at www.lifehappens.org during the campaign.

"Donnie understands first-hand how not owning life insurance can leave loved ones financially vulnerable in the event of a tragedy, but just as important, the peace of mind it provides to those who've purchased it," says Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation. "The vast majority of Americans understand the need for life insurance, yet a startling 68 million adult Americans have no coverage at all. We are hopeful that Donnie's involvement this September will motivate Americans to take a short break from their busy lives to determine if they're among the millions who lack adequate life insurance protection."

Throughout Life Insurance Awareness Month, a wealth of information about life insurance will be available for consumers from the LIFE
Foundation and more than 100 insurance companies and other industry groups supporting the campaign.

For consumers interested in evaluating their life insurance needs, LIFE suggests taking it "step by step" and offers the following three tips to get you started:

1. Determine if you need life insurance - If someone would suffer financially when you die, you need life insurance. For most adult Americans, that is the case.

2. Evaluate how much life insurance you need - Ask yourself, how much money your loved ones would need in your absence to maintain their standard of living and fund future plans? The difference between that amount and your existing income and assets offers a good guide for how much life insurance you need. For a quick estimate of your needs, check out the interactive insurance needs calculator on LIFE's website at www.lifehappens.org/howmuch.

3. Get professional help - The process may seem simple enough, but calculating your needs can get complicated and this is one math assignment you don't want to get wrong. For a comprehensive needs analysis, meet with a qualified insurance professional. You can also look into your coverage options at work. Many employers provide their employees with life insurance or give them the opportunity to buy or increase coverage at favorable rates. To find an agent in your area, visit LIFE's agent search engine at www.lifehappens.org/agentlocator.

Mushroomhead set to release DVD in October; World Tour with Brujeria in December!

Cleveland metal outfit has a new album coming in 2009

Mushroomhead announces the DVD release of Volume 2, on October 28, 2008 on Filthy Hands/Megaforce Records. It's the highly anticipated follow-up to their 2005 DVD release Volume 1. The new DVD features 2 ½ hours of pure mayhem featuring exclusive never before seen content, live footage from the past three years on their “Savior Sorrow” tour, music videos including Headbanger's Ball 2007 Video Of The Year “1200,” “Simple Survival,” and the band's brand new video “Save Us.” Other extras include video commentary, behind the scenes footage and band antics.

"Volume 2 contains all the content that fans are hungry for, all the 'behind the scenes antics and drama' that shows the human side of Mushroomhead and what goes on when we are not on stage. Everything about this home video is personal, we filmed and edited all of the content in it as well, over 2 1/2 hours of mayhem and comedy. If you own Volume 1 then Volume 2 will blow your fucking mind.” - STITCH

The band will hit the road in October with The Autumn Offering, XFactor1 and Human Factors Lab and December dates with Brujeria.

Mushroomhead will also enter the studio this winter to record the follow-up album to their 2006 release Savior Sorrow. The new CD is slated for release spring 2009!

In the spring of 1993 seven musicians from Cleveland, OH came together to form a side project called Mushroomhead. The intentions of this project were to create an eclectic blend of music, forceful yet melodic alterna-metal incorporating elements of heavy rock, punk, goth, and industrial, yet combined with a vaudevillian stage show. From the band’s first concert it was obvious that this was far more than a side project, but would soon become a pioneering band. Known for its theatrical live show and the black masks that most of its members wear on-stage, Mushroomhead is one of the more unique and adventurous alternative metal outfits to ever emerged on the scene.

See them conquer live:

w/ The Autumn Offering, XFactor1 and Human Factors Lab:

10/03 - Findlay, OH - The Whiskey Venue
10/04 - Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
10/05 - Erie, PA - Sherlock's
10/07 - Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock Cafe
10/08 - Williamsville, NY - Club Infinity
10/09 - Hartford, CT - Webster
10/10 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
10/11 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Rock'n'Shock
10/12 - Orono, ME - Ultra Lounge
10/14 - Huntington, WV - Monkey Bar

10/15 - Springfield, VA – Jaxx

10/16 - Raleigh, NC - Volume 11 Tavern
10/17 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans
10/18 - Fayetteville, NC - Jester's Pub
10/19 - Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall
10/23 - Palatine, IL - Durty Nellies
10/24 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
10/25 - Maplewood, MN - The Rock
10/26 - Madison, WI - The Annex
10/29 - Traverse City, MI - Streeters

10/30 - Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
10/31 - Cleveland, OH. - The Agora {famous Halloween show!!!}
11/01 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop

11/2 – Pittsburgh, PA - The Saddle Ridge

w/ Brujeria:

Saturday Nov.29 Los Angeles CA - House Of Blues

Monday Dec 1 Tucson Arizona - The Rock

Tuesday Dec 2 Sunshine Theater - Alburquerque, NM

Wednesday Dec 3 El Paso T.X - Club 101

Thursday Dec 4 Mcallen TX - Cene El Rey

Friday Dec 5 Victoria T.X - Riverside Multiplex

Saturday Dec 6 Austin T.X - Red 7

Sunday Dec 7 Fort Worth T.X - Ridglea Theater

The Morning Light LP Out Now! Exclusive Album Stream! Tour Dates! More!

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The Morning Light is excited to announce the nationwide release of their self-titled, full-length debut album today on Fearless Records.

Produced by Matt Goldman (Anberlin, Underoath, Copeland) and mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, Cobra Starship, Metro Station), this album is quickly beginning to buzz, debuting on the CMJ Charts at #60. The young band is already accomplishing great things, premiering as the #9 most added artist on one of the largest add weeks for college radio. To listen to their full album, check out the exclusive album stream on PureVolume (link above).

Alternative Press Magazine named The Morning Light as one of the recommended bands for 2008, and they are not the only ones taking notice. Check out features for The Morning Light this month on Imeem, iLike, fuse.tv, AbsolutePunk.net, Download.com, iSound, and more.

Check out The Morning Light live on tour this fall with The Rocket Summer, Phantom Planet and The Secret Handshake.

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TOUR DATES

w/ The Rocket Summer, Phantom Planet, The Secret Handshake

9.16.08 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater

9.17.08 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon

9.19.08 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue

9.20.08 -Englewood, CO @ Gothic

9.22.08 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada

9.23.08 -Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4

9.24.08 - Milwaukee, WI @ Rave

9.25.08 - Chicago, IL @ Metro

9.26.08 - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom

9.27.08 - Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theater

9.28.08 - Buffalo, NY @ Club Infinity

9.29.08 - Henniker, NH @ New EnglandCollege

9.30.08 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium

10.1.08 - Philadelphia, PA @ Fillmore @ TLA

10.2.08 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club

10.3.08 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall

10.4.08 - Sayerville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

10.5.08 - Norfolk, VA @ Norva

10.7.08 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade

10.8.08 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing

10.9.08 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution

10.10.08 - Orlando, FL @ House of Blues

10.11.08 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Beta Bar

10.13.08 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues

10.14.08 - San Antonio, TX @ Scout Bar

10.15.08 - Austin, TX @ Emo's

10.18.08 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues

10.25.08 - Allentown, Pennsylvania @ Crocodile Rock

12.19.08 - Poughkeepsie, New York @ The Chance

I'm in a Billboard Magazine Contest...hope you all can help me win!

I've entered a contest by Billboard magazine, and I need as many votes as I can get to win. I'm counting on each and every one of you to help me win this! If I win the grand prize, I promise to share the wealth. Just click to vote -- vote often, vote all the time, vote EVERY time!

Here are the links:
CLICK HERE!

(My photos are labeled B. Giacomazzo/Akasha Multimedia)